Eugene Rodriguez celebrates his new book published by Heyday, Bird of Four Hundred Voices, in conversation with Gustavo Arellano at Skylight Books in Los Angeles.

In-person event. 1818 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA.

Gustavo Arellano is author of Orange County: A Personal History and Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and has been an essayist and reporter for various publications and a frequent commentator on radio and television. He was formerly editor of OC Weekly, an alternative newspaper in Orange County, California, and penned the award-winning “¡Ask a Mexican!,” a nationally syndicated column in which he answered any and all questions about America’s spiciest and largest minority. Gustavo is the recipient of awards ranging from the Los Angeles Press Club President’s Award to an Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, was recognized by the California Latino Legislative Caucus with a 2008 Spirit Award for his “exceptional vision, creativity, and work ethic,” and was part of the Los Angeles Times team that won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. Gustavo is a lifelong resident of Orange County and is the proud son of two Mexican immigrants, one whom came to this country in the trunk of a Chevy.

Eugene Rodriguez is founder and executive director of Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy, a nonprofit based in San Pablo, California. He formed Los Cenzontles in 1989. Rodriguez has produced over thirty albums and numerous films for Los Cenzontles, and he has collaborated with Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Los Lobos, Lalo Guerrero, Ry Cooder, the Chieftains, and Taj Mahal. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. He is also the recipient of several awards and fellowships, including from the California Arts Council and United States Artists. He lives in Richmond, California.